The growth in international schools is gathering pace, with the market expected to be worth $89 billion by 2026.

Much of the rise has been fueled by the demand for English-medium education, with the number of English-medium K-12 schools up by more than 40% in the last five years.

More than four million students now educated in international schools, up by 45% over the same period.

This makes the market worth around $39 billion in fee income and the forecast is for it to reach $89 billion by 2026.

Asia has seen the largest increase and now accounts for more than half of all international schools and 60% of all students, with the international education market particularly strong in the United Arab Emirates, China and Saudi Arabia.

The growth has been fueled by the apparently unstoppable rise of English as the global language, providing both a currency in an increasingly globalized workforce and entry to the world’s best universities.